The present invention relates to the new and distinct butterfly bush plant of the Scrophulariaceae family, Buddleia ‘Little Angel’ hybridized by Hans A. Hansen in the summer of 2010 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. ‘Little Angel’ is the result of an ongoing breeding program conducted by the inventor. The goals for this program have been to produce improved, garden-worthy plants for the ornamental plant market. Seeds from a cross of Buddleia ‘Blue Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,991 as the female or seed patent and Buddleia ‘Podaras #8’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,069 as the male parent were harvested on Aug. 8, 2010. The selection was of a single seedling initially selected in the summer of 2011 and assigned breeder code H10-23-01.
No plants of Buddleia ‘Little Angel’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of this application with the exception of that which may have been disclosed within one year of the filing of this application and was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.
Buddleia ‘Little Angel’ was first asexually propagated from the single select plant in 2012 by stem cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The resultant asexually propagated plants have been found to be stable and true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.